On 2011-10-04, at 08:58 , David Townshend wrote:
>>
>> def try_convert(target_type, obj, default, ignored=(TypeError,))
>> try:
>> return target_type(obj)
>> except ignored:
>> return default
>>
>
> The problem with a general convert function is that to make it work, you
> would need to account for several variations and the signature gets rather
> clunky. Personally, I think that the try format:
>
> try:
> return float('some text')
> except ValueError:
> return 42
>
> is more readable than
>
> try_convert('some text', float, 42, (ValueError,))
>
> because it is clear what it does. The second form is shorter, but not as
> descriptive. However,
>
> float('some text', default=42)
>
> follows the existing syntax quite nicely, and is more readable than either
> of the other options.
>
> A generalised try_convert method would be useful, but I think I would rather
> see a one-line version of the try statements, perhaps something like this:
>
> x = try float('some text') else 42 if ValueError